Ruengoethe

Ondine

“No, it is not sin to have never heard the Word. It is sin to ignore it. It is worse to know the Word of the Lord of Skies and Waters, and never speak it again. For the world is a stranger, and our Word is to make it a friend.”
-from an Ondine priestess’s address to her followers

“Fae of the Summer Court”
The Ondine live in the jungles of Cairnaythiel in their pyramids by the great rivers. They are the most mercantile and sociable of the fae courts, as well as being prolific missionaries throughout the world. Though most fae claim to be dedicated to their Walking God, the Ondine take it to a far more serious level. Their Walking God, the Lord of Skies and Waters, grants a great degree of power to his people, but to sustain his power the Ondine have to make regular sacrifices to him—hundreds of souls a day feed the Lord of Skies and Waters to keep his power flowing to his people. The theocracy of Ondine demands that more followers be brought under the sway of their powerful lord. As a gift to his people, and to aid them in their missionary work, the Lord of Skies and Waters granted the Ondine the ability to communicate with any sentient creature through the Loom, and this has affected Ondine culture greatly, making them strangely empathetic to the point of mirroring the behavior of those around them. They, like the Apsara, also have the ability to step into the Loom bodily, though their mastery of this technique is not as developed as the Autumn Court’s. The Ondine quickly adopt foreign practices, even those they do not understand, because of their varied communications with other cultures. They are a people who on the surface seem to be in constant flux, a multicultural society that unifies itself with one guiding principle—the Way of Skies and Waters is the truest path.

Play an Ondine if you want…

To be religious, supernaturally sympathetic, and driven.

To be part of a unified culture with an explicit purpose and worldwide presence.

To be able to excel as a bard, wizard, or invoker.

Gameplay Statistics

Use the Shardmind statistics from the Player’s Handbook 3. Replace “Living Construct” with “Trance (as an Eladrin)” and “Immortal Origin” with “Fae Origin.” Languages are Vulgate and Seelie, and a choice of one other. Your telepathic communication is not strictly limited by language, though hindered significantly if one is not shared.

Physical Description: Ondine are usually taller than the other members of the fae court, though their frames are just as slight. They have dark skin and thick, wavy blue-black hair that is usually kept long. Like other fae, their eyes do not have a visible iris, and usually are white, yellow, or robin’s egg blue. Ondine clothing is an eclectic mixture of other cultures, though there are some consistent trends. Gold is a very common decoration since it is so plentiful in Cairnaythiel, and the Ondine festoon themselves with religious symbols made of the yellow metal.

Playing an Ondine in this campaign: Your defining characteristic will often be your strange ability to see the world through the eyes of those around you, and to share your own thoughts with other people as well. You may respond to your religious upbringing as a zealot, or as simply a dedicated believer who leaves the missionary work up to the missionaries and does not try and change the minds of one’s companions. You are often more trusted by foreigners because your people bring good trade, education, and have avoided warfare for the past century. More importantly, your motives are not hidden, unlike the Autumn Court’s. People know that the Summer Court wishes to bring the world under the rule of the Lord of Skies and Waters, and find it comforting that the Ondine are so up front about it.